Posts Tagged ‘thriller novels’

Amazon bestseller mystery-thriller novel THE NINTH ORPHAN features on movie development slate – Producer enquiries welcome!

Posted: November 8, 2026 in The Ninth Orphan
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THE NINTH ORPHAN, Book 1 in the thriller series ‘The Orphan Trilogy’ co-authored by James and Lance Morcan, has been added to their feature film development slate.

An orphan grows up to become an assassin for a highly secretive organization. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, he is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, the mysterious man’s life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage, and a shocking past riddled with the darkest of conspiracies is revealed.

THE NINTH ORPHAN is available via Amazon as an audiobook, Kindle eBook and paperback. The paperback is also available via Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and via public libraries.

The Morcans have adapted and are adapting their most commercial published novels to feature film screenplays – as a visit to James’ IMDb film industry site reveals: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1909596/

Producer enquiries are welcome!

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International thriller ‘The Ninth Orphan’ merges fact with fiction

Posted: November 5, 2026 in The Ninth Orphan
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The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy Book 1) illuminates shadow organizations rumored to actually exist. Co-authored by James and Lance Morcan, it explores a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.

The Ninth Orphan is available via Amazon as an audiobook, Kindle eBook and paperback. The print version is also available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and via public libraries.

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Book 2 in THE ORPHAN TRILOGY now available as audiobook!

Posted: June 30, 2025 in Audiobooks, The Orphan Factory
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THE ORPHAN FACTORY (The Orphan Trilogy Book 2), co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening time 11hrs 59mins).

To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Orphan-Factory/dp/B0DT91Z8RX/ 

THE ORPHAN FACTORY is a coming-of-age spy thriller and a prequel to THE NINTH ORPHAN. It’s an epic, atmospheric story that begins with 23 genetically superior orphans being groomed to become elite spies in Chicago’s Pedemont Orphanage and concludes with a political assassination deep in the Amazon jungle. Readers are taken on another frenetic journey with the ninth-born orphan as he busts out of the clandestine orphanage he knew as home and goes on the run across America and beyond.

Amazon’s review rating for THE ORPHAN FACTORY is 4.3 out of 5 stars with 182 global ratings.

An A.I. summary of reviewers’ comments for this novel reads as follows (abridged):

“Customers find this book to be a great second instalment in the trilogy, with an interesting storyline and appropriate conspiracy theory elements. Moreover, the writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a well-written espionage-conspiracy-spy-assassin thriller novel. Additionally, they appreciate the insight provided, with one review highlighting how it explains the orphans’ childhood development…”

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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE ORPHAN FACTORY is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.

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Spy thriller bestseller THE NINTH ORPHAN now available as audiobook!

Posted: June 29, 2025 in Audiobooks, The Ninth Orphan
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The bestselling spy thriller THE NINTH ORPHAN (The Orphan Trilogy Book 1), co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening time 8hrs 42mins).

To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Ninth-Orphan/dp/B0FDKZ665C/

How do you catch a man who is never the same man twice?

That is the question posed in this top-rated international thriller novel and first book in The Orphan Trilogy.

An orphan grows up to become an assassin for a highly secretive organization. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, he is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, the mysterious man’s life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past riddled with the darkest of conspiracies is revealed.

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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE NINTH ORPHAN is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.

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Action-adventure novel HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT now available as audiobook!

Posted: June 28, 2025 in Audiobooks, High Country Contract
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The crime novel HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT, co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening length 3hrs. 43mins.).

To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-High-Country-Contract/dp/B0FDKSJ5G2/

In this crime-based adventure set in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, young Kiwi drifter Arch Quaid thinks he has landed the contract of his life when he’s hired to cull deer on a South Island high country property. He quickly changes his mind when he discovers he’s the hunted, not the hunter. Caught up in the middle of it all is his new love Janine, a beautiful Maori girl who will likely be the killer’s next target if Arch doesn’t overcome the most daunting of odds.

 “The book is a page turner that you won’t put down. The Morcans always deliver an exciting read which captivates the imagination of the reader.” -U.S. publisher George Shaddock

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Crime thriller SILENT FEAR now available as an audiobook!

Posted: June 24, 2025 in Audiobooks, SILENT FEAR novel
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Our critically acclaimed crime thriller SILENT FEAR (A novel inspired by true crimes) is available now as an Amazon audiobook. To listen to the novel’s chilling prologue, visit the following link then click on “Virtual voice sample” in the panel below the cover image… https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Fear-novel-inspired-crimes/dp/B0FDKZL7LL/

Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the Deaf in London, England. The murder investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

SILENT FEAR has 272 global ratings on Amazon with an average review rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars.

According to Amazon, “Customers find the book’s plot engaging, with one mentioning an unexpected twist at the end, and appreciate its suspenseful nature, with one noting it kept them on edge throughout. The book receives positive feedback for its insight, with one review highlighting its deep and methodical investigation, and customers like the character development, with one praising the strong female protagonist. The book has many twists and turns, and customers consider it a great read…”

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For those who prefer to read novels, the paperback version of SILENT FEAR is available via Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.

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LOOKING FOR SOME GOOD HOLIDAY READING? CHECK OUT THESE “ADDICTIVE” BOOK TRILOGIES!

Posted: December 16, 2024 in The Orphan Trilogy
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Romper.com invites you to check out its “Addictive Book Trilogies with a Cult Following to Dive into STAT.” Our bestseller international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan, The Orphan Factory, The Orphan Uprising) – by James & Lance Morcan – comes in at #5 on the list! James’s name comes first because the trilogy was his brainchild.

The list follows below.

Addictive Book Trilogies list:

#1  The Hunger Games – by Suzanne Collins
#2  The Millennium Trilogy – by Stieg Larsson
#3  Infernal Devices Trilogy – by Cassandra Clare
#4  Graceling Realm Series – by Kristin Cashore
#5  The Orphan Trilogy – by James and Lance Morcan
#6  The King Trilogy – by Stephen Douglass
#7  His Dark Materials – by Philip Pullman
#8  The Bourne Trilogy – by Robert Ludlum
#9  Trilogy Of The Chosen – by J.M. LeDuc
#10 The Falsifiers – by Antoine Bello
#11 Bloodlines Trilogy – by Glen Duncan
#12 The Beyond Trilogy – by Janet Morris
#13 The Bronze Horseman Trilogy – by Paullina Simons
#14 African Trilogy – by Chinua Achebe
#15 The Ibis Trilogy – by Amitav Ghosh

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Romper.com’s summary of The Orphan Trilogy follows:

“James and Lance Morcan’s Orphan Trilogy is a fast-paced international conspiracy series that follows an orphan named Nine. He is one of twenty-three genetically superior orphans being raised and groomed by Chicago’s Pedemont Project to start a new world order. The series follows Nine as he comes of age within the orphanage, then escapes and goes on the run across America and overseas, all the while using espionage skills from his upbringing to try to outrun his former father-figure. Talk about suspense from the get-go!”

Amazon link to The Orphan Trilogy: https://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Trilogy-Ninth-Factory-Uprising-ebook/dp/B00BGGM05U – It’s available as a Kindle ebook only. However, the three books in the trilogy are available individually as paperbacks and ebooks.

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Writer-director James Morcan to direct aviation thriller based on his novel The Heathrow Affair

Posted: June 25, 2024 in Morcan films, The Heathrow Affair
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News release: June 25, 2024

New Zealand publisher Sterling Gate Books this week announced that film director James Morcan has attached to direct The Heathrow Affair, an aviation thriller based on his published novel of the same name.

A spokesperson for the publishing company said the novel was one of one of 12 co-authored by Morcan and his father Lance.

“The New Zealand father-and-son writing team’s books are published under the Sterling Gate Books banner,” he said. “It brings to nine the number of their novel adaptations that James is now attached to direct.”

Novel to be adapted for feature film.

Speaking from Sydney, where he is preparing to approach major streaming platforms regarding his award-winning, new-release movie Anno 2020, the younger Morcan said directing The Heathrow Affair would present some unique challenges.

“The novel was inspired by a narrowly avoided tragedy which saw the captain of a British Airways flight being partially sucked out of the aircraft after it suffered an explosive decompression over Oxfordshire,” said Morcan.

“That event, which occurred on June 10, 1990, involved BA Flight 5390. It was caused by an improperly installed windscreen panel, which separated from its frame, causing the captain to be partially ejected. He was held in place through the window frame for 20 minutes until the plane successfully landed. The captain miraculously survived and made a full recovery.”

Historic shot of fateful BA Flight 5390.

“The leading character in The Heathrow Affair is a young East Ender employed as an aircraft mechanic at Heathrow Airport. He seems to have it all, but his life is turned upside down when the girl of his dreams announces she’s leaving him for a dashing pilot employed by the same airline.

“Worse is to come when he’s blamed for a mid-air incident that has catastrophic consequences for one of the airline’s aircraft high above the Atlantic.

“The screenplay adaption for the planned movie will be faithful to the novel in that it will retain the book’s love triangle theme. Without giving too much away, our young mechanic is reunited with his lost love in a way neither could ever have imagined.”

Morcan said this his latest book-to-film project will be uniquely challenging because it will need to be set at England’s Heathrow Airport.

“In addition to the technical difficulties of shooting scenes around the airport as well as in and around individual aircraft, the film will obviously be expensive to shoot. This will necessitate the attachment of A-list actors to greenlight it.”

He said actors couldn’t help but be impressed that the novel was attracting excellent reviews.

Accredited Amazon.com reviewer Grady Harp describes The Heathrow Affair as “An exciting read (that) provides a fine diversion for an evening away from the clutter of the world.” And top Amazon Australia critic Todd Simpson says, “Brilliant, I loved it… The story took a turn that I wasn’t expecting, and it certainly hit me between the eyes!”

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Amazon link to The Heathrow Affair: https://www.amazon.com/Heathrow-Affair-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B07X8CN6BD

IMDb film industry link to James Morcan: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1909596/

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Kiwi authors’ soon-to-be-released novel captures the zeitgeist of a troubled era

Posted: May 8, 2024 in Uncategorized
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The New Zealand father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, authors of some 35 published fiction and non-fiction books, today announced the likely release date for their next co-authored novel Anno 2021. 

Interim cover image for Anno 2021.

An international action-thriller, its planned pre-Christmas (early December) release follows James Morcan’s successful adaptation of his first solo-authored novel, Anno 2020, to a feature film screenplay and subsequent new-release movie. 

The younger Morcan, who is also an actor and director, acted in and directed the Australian-produced movie, which celebrated its world premiere at a red-carpet screening in Sydney last month.  

“Anno 2020 is a mystery-drama whereas this novel (Anno 2021) is more of an action-thriller,” said Sydney-based James.

“Their common theme is that both cover the dramas experienced by individuals around the world caught up in the COVID lockdowns of those two unforgettable years, and they capture the zeitgeist of this troubled era as society gets ever more fractured.

“They are both controversial as we, the writers, don’t shy away from covering the contentious issues that divided nations during those years.

“Like the earlier novel, which was set in 17 different destinations on four continents, Anno 2021 will be truly global with a vignette of storylines and characters based in America, England, South Africa, Tahiti and New Zealand.”

Papamoa-based novelist-screenwriter Lance Morcan, who is also Story Consultant and Associate Producer on Anno 2020 the movie, said he and son James were already thinking about the screenplay adaptation of Anno 2021 while they undertook final editing of the novel.

“We are no strangers to this process,” said Lance. “We’ve adapted several of our co-authored novels to feature film screenplays and these are in early development with known and mainly American actors attached in some cases.”

As novelists, the Morcans are best known for their bestselling thrillers The Ninth Orphan and Silent Fear, and for their historical adventure novels White Spirit, Into the Americas and Fiji; their non-fiction books include Genius Intelligence, The Catcher in the Rye Enigma and Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, which have all been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists.

Their books all appear under the banner of New Zealand publisher Sterling Gate Books and are currently exclusive to Amazon.

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Link to Morcan film projects: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1909596/

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THE EXCHANGE: Grisham’s latest far from his greatest

Posted: January 22, 2024 in Book reviews
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John Grisham’s latest offering, THE EXCHANGE, was not worth the wait in this book critic’s opinion. Presented as “The riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of the world’s bestselling author,” it pales by comparison to that earlier novel.

Sure, it picks up where The Firm left off, albeit 15 years later, but it’s so dialogue heavy it’s a virtual talkfest interrupted by a seemingly never-ending round of meetings, international flights, phone calls, more flights and still more interminable meetings. The repetition is mind-blowingly tedious and annoying. Drama, action, and tension are totally lacking. Very disappointing – especially as this critic is a long-time Grisham fan and considers The Firm one of his very best novels.

Ah, well…Grisham remains one of my favorite authors – up there with M. Connolly, D. Baldacci, N. DeMille, G. Iles, K. Follett, Sir G. Archer, L. Child, C. Iggulden, F. Forsyth et al. – and, as always, I do look forward to his next offering.

Meanwhile, for anyone still interested in the storyline for THE EXCHANGE, here ‘tis as it appears on the book’s Amazon page…

Mitch McDeere has cheated death and come out the other side. Fifteen years ago, he stole $10 million from the mob and disappeared. Now, with his enemies jailed or dead, he has fought his way to the top of the biggest law firm in the world.

When a new case takes Mitch to Libya, danger awaits: he’s soon in the biggest hostage negotiation in recent history with terrorists who have murdered and will murder again. Their demand is staggering: a ransom of $100 million must be paid within 10 days.

But this isn’t a random kidnapping – it’s personal. And no one, not even Mitch’s wife in New York, is safe.

To see what reviewers are saying about ‘THE EXCHANGE: The Firm, Book 2’ go to: https://www.amazon.com/Exchange-After-biggest-Grisham-decade-ebook/dp/B0BX44G8TR/

#Amazon global review rating: 4 out of 5 stars after 37,123 global ratings.

-Lance Morcan

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